Sample Multiple Choice Questions: Intelligence, Motivation, Emotion
The following sample multiple choice questions are to provide you with an idea of the
kinds of questions I frequently ask on exams and how I stress understanding concepts–
answers to these questions can be found in the Intelligence, Motivation and Emotion
chapters of Myers
1.
Binet and Terman would have been most likely to disagree about the:
A)
B)
C)
D)
2.
Twelve-year-old Jerry has an IQ of 75 on the original version of the StanfordBinet. His mental age is:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
3.
8.
9.
10.
12.
16.
In order to assess whether intelligence is a single trait or a collection of several
distinct abilities, psychologists have made extensive use of:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
4.
extent to which intelligence is determined by heredity.
need to standardize intelligence tests.
possibility of predicting people's academic success from intelligence test
scores.
extent to which individuals differ in their intellectual abilities.
the normal distribution.
criterion-based validation.
standardization.
reliability assessment.
factor analysis.
Which of the following persons best illustrates Sternberg and Wagner's concept of
practical intelligence?
A)
B)
C)
Jamal, a college student who quickly recognizes the correct answers to
multiple-choice test questions
Gareth, a graduate student who generates many creative research ideas
Shelley, a newspaper reporter who has a knack for making connections
with very important people
D)
5.
Brain size (adjusted for body size) is ________ correlated with intelligence, and
the brain's rate of glucose consumption while performing cognitive tasks is
________ correlated with intelligence.
A)
B)
C)
D)
6.
has not been standardized.
is not valid.
is not reliable.
has not been factor-analyzed.
does not produce scores that form a normal distribution.
The best indicator of infants' intellectual aptitude is their:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
8.
positively; negatively
negatively; positively
positively; positively
negatively; negatively
If both depressed and nondepressed individuals receive similar scores on a
diagnostic test for depression, it is said that the test:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
7.
Cindy, a young mother who prefers playing with her children to cleaning
her house
readiness to crawl at an early age.
capacity for imitating adult facial expressions.
tendency to quickly shift their gaze from a familiar to a novel picture.
ability to discriminate their mother's voice from that of a female stranger.
head circumference at birth in relation to their total weight.
Grouping children in separate educational classes according to their level of
intellectual aptitude tends to ________ their self-esteem and ________ their
academic achievement.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
increase; increase
increase; decrease
decrease; decrease
decrease; have little effect on
increase; have little effect on
9.
Which of the following suggestions would be LEAST helpful to a young
performing artist who wants to become a highly creative ballet dancer?
A)
B)
C)
D)
10.
The similarity between the intelligence test scores of identical twins raised apart
is:
A)
B)
C)
D)
11.
less than that between children and their biological parents.
equal to that between identical twins reared together.
equal to that between fraternal twins reared together.
greater than that between ordinary siblings reared together.
The intelligence test scores of adopted children are LEAST likely to be positively
correlated with the scores of their adoptive siblings during:
A)
B)
C)
D)
12.
"Study the performances of the world's best ballet artists."
"Develop friendly and supportive relationships with fellow ballet
dancers."
"Win competitive performances that will lead to performance arts
scholarship offers."
"Take time for those practice drills that you find most enjoyable."
middle childhood.
early adolescence.
middle adolescence.
early adulthood.
Experts who defend intelligence tests against the charge of being culturally biased
and discriminatory would be most likely to highlight the ________ of intelligence
tests.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
normal distribution
content validity
predictive validity
reliability
standardization
13.
Needs are ________ correlated with ________.
A)
B)
C)
D)
14.
Which theory would be most likely to predict that rats are motivated to explore
precisely those areas of an experimental maze where they receive mild electrical
shocks?
A)
B)
C)
D)
15.
extrinsic motivation.
sexual disorders.
hunger.
boredom.
anorexia nervosa.
On the basis of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, one would be least likely to predict
that a:
A)
B)
C)
D)
17.
arousal theory
incentive theory
instinct theory
drive-reduction theory
The arousal theory of motivation would be most useful for understanding the
aversive effects of:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
16.
positively; incentives
negatively; incentives
positively; drives
negatively; drives
starving person might sell his child to obtain food.
teacher with high self-esteem might seek a career change to use his
abilities more fully.
successful business executive might show greater concern for his family
relationships than for becoming president of his corporation.
prisoner might choose to die rather than betray his country.
Destruction of the ventromedial hypothalamus of a rat is most likely to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
lower its set point for body weight.
cause it to stop eating.
lower its blood insulin level.
facilitate conversion of its blood glucose to fat.
18.
Twenty-two-year-old Tawana is slightly overweight and loves to eat, particularly
snack foods and rich desserts. Fearful of becoming overweight, she frequently
takes a laxative after eating too much. Tawana most clearly suffers from:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
19.
The drive-reduction theory of motivation is more applicable to hunger than to sex
because, unlike hunger, sexual desire is not a direct response to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
20.
a physiological need.
an external incentive.
hypothalamic activity.
any of the above.
Foolish conformity to peer pressure is most likely to be motivated by ________
needs.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
21.
bulimia nervosa.
anorexia nervosa.
extrinsic motivation.
an abnormally high set point.
hypermetabolism.
safety
belongingness
achievement
self-actualization
sexual
Parents who wish to strengthen their children's achievement motivation should be
advised to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
encourage children at an early age to handle responsibility without
parental help.
tell their children that failure in life brings suffering.
warmly accept and praise their children regardless of whether they
succeed or fail.
recognize that young children can't be expected to do things successfully
without parental help.
22.
In order to encourage achievement motivation in the classroom, students should
be taught to attribute their good grades to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
23.
In terms of Maslow's motivational hierarchy, the higher-level needs of employees
are most likely to be satisfied by:
A)
B)
C)
D)
24.
rats
chimpanzees
dogs
fruit flies
Yang just spent an evening watching pornographic movies of attractive women
who actually seemed to enjoy being sexually molested. This experience is most
likely to lead Yang to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
26.
theory X managers.
monetary incentives.
task leadership.
participative management.
With a single transplanted gene, scientists can now cause male ________ to
display homosexual behavior.
A)
B)
C)
D)
25.
their own hard work.
their own high level of intelligence.
the easy nature of most academic tasks.
their teachers' generous grading standards.
their parents effective supervision of their study time.
see his own girlfriend as sexually unreceptive.
perceive himself as sexually impotent.
be more willing to hurt women.
feel unsure about his gender identity.
view sexual promiscuity as morally wrong.
The basic components of emotion are:
A)
B)
C)
D)
sympathetic arousal, parasympathetic inhibition, and cognitive labeling.
physical gestures, facial expressions, and psychological drives.
expressive behaviors, physiological arousal, and conscious experience.
cognition, affect, and behavior.
27.
The fact that facial expressions of emotion tend to intensify the experience of
emotion serves to support the:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
28.
Tranquilizing drugs that inhibit sympathetic nervous system activity often
effectively reduce people's subjective experience of intense fear and anxiety.
Which theory of emotion would have the greatest difficulty explaining this effect?
A)
B)
C)
D)
29.
James-Lange
Cannon-Bard
two-factor
All the above would have equal difficulty explaining this effect.
While completing a final exam, Karen labels her arousal as energizing, whereas
Mike labels his arousal as threatening. The emotional experiences of the two test
takers are likely to differ the most with respect to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
30.
catharsis hypothesis.
Cannon-Bard theory.
James-Lange theory.
adaptation-level theory.
opponent-process theory.
duration.
intensity.
adaptation level.
valence.
Research on the nonverbal expression of emotion indicates that:
A)
B)
C)
D)
the body movements and gestures used to express emotions are the same
throughout the world.
it is difficult to use nonverbal cues in order to mislead others about one's
true emotions.
introverts are better than extraverts at recognizing nonverbal expressions
of emotion in others.
accurately identifying emotional facial expressions in people from
different cultures requires personal experience with those cultures.
31.
Research on nonverbal communication indicates that:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
32.
Which of the following children is most likely to calm down emotionally shortly
after venting his anger?
A)
B)
C)
D)
33.
Jack, who attacks his older brother for spitting at him
Jeremiah, who attacks his younger brother for spitting at him
Jed, who attacks his older brother for no good reason at all
Jason, who attacks his younger brother for no good reason at all
During the last four decades, the spendable income of Americans (adjusting for
inflation) has ________ and their self-reported personal happiness has ________.
A)
B)
C)
D)
34.
very young children's facial expressions of emotion are very difficult to
interpret.
children learn the facial expressions associated with emotion by observing
adults.
blind children who have never observed others demonstrate normal facial
expressions of emotion.
boys are better than girls at recognizing nonverbal expressions of emotion.
children are unable to interpret facial expressions until they reach
adolescence.
remained almost unchanged; decreased
increased; remained almost unchanged
remained almost unchanged; increased
remained almost unchanged; remained almost unchanged
Jason is an unsuccessful businessman who feels depressed. In order to increase
his satisfaction and happiness with life, Jason should:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
imagine what his own life might be like if he became rich and famous.
compare himself with friends who became rich and successful.
identify how his own foolish decisions and lack of foresight have
contributed to his unhappiness.
recall past moments when his life was much more pleasant than it is now.
imagine what his life might be like if he were suffering from a fatal
disease.
35.
The opponent-process theory would predict that with repeated use of an addictive
euphoria-producing drug, the drug user would begin to experience pleasant highs
________ and unpleasant withdrawal reactions ________.
A)
B)
C)
D)
36.
Which of the following factors has been found to be clearly related to feelings of
general happiness or life satisfaction?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
37.
being well educated
having children
being over 50 years old
having a meaningful religious faith
being physically attractive
Rannilt was euphoric after learning of her acceptance into the medical school of
her choice. After a few weeks, however, she feels no emotional excitement when
she thinks about her admission to medical school. This change in her feelings can
best be explained in terms of the:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
38.
more intensely; more intensely
less intensely; less intensely
more intensely; less intensely
less intensely; more intensely
catharsis hypothesis.
relative deprivation principle.
opponent-process theory.
Cannon-Bard theory.
adaptation-level phenomenon.
A psychotherapist suggests that Theresa can effectively reduce the anger she feels
toward her ex-boyfriend by tearing pictures of him into little pieces. This
suggestion illustrates the therapist's acceptance of the:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
catharsis hypothesis.
adaptation-level principle.
James-Lange theory.
two-factor theory.
relative deprivation principle.